China – Millions of Fines for Food Suppliers – Economy

The Chinese competition authority SAMR has fined the food delivery giant millions. Meituan had to pay 3.4 billion yuan (around 456 million euros) for abuse of its dominant position, said SAMR. The penalty corresponds to three percent of Meituan’s sales in China last year. The delivery service provider should also “cease illegal behavior” and repay 1.29 billion yuan to traders, the agency added. Meituan would have forced restaurants to exclusively use his platform. The company said it accepted the penalty and would make the adjustments ordered by the regulator. The eighth largest Chinese corporation by market value has been expanding into areas outside of food delivery such as hotel bookings and bike sharing for years.